What A Difference A Day Makes
by curlyj76
Summary: Song Fic - Water Rations and a little Dinah Washington


**A non-cannon, old story, brought to you by moi. lol ****Any and all lovely mistakes are my own. ****Enjoy. :)**

**Disclaimer: They're not mine, I'm not claiming they are. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Fic is based upon the song, "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes," lyrics by Stanley Adams and sung by Dinah Washington. Due to copyright restrictions, the lyrics cannot be posted within this story. I highly suggest listening to it in order to get the whole feel of the fic! :D**

* * *

He's going to know the minute he sees me. The jaw is going to set and that damned eyebrow is going to rise in salute to my vanishing resolve.

I need to get this smile off my face. There's no way I'm going to be able to step into CIC grinning like a drunken knuckle-dragger and not get noticed. Funny, I never really noticed how…warm…this uniform could be. Shake it off Husker. Shake it off. Relax the shoulders, deep breath.

I hope that she makes it to her meeting in time. Who knew you could get so completely sidetracked talking about water rations and the uses of shower stalls…

_That_ line of thought is NOT going to help me get through my shift without embarrassment.

* * *

Gods, I hope he won't be able to tell. Hell, I hope the whole damned Quorum won't be able to tell. Ok. Think of some excuses… Maybe I'm flushed because of the fact that I'm running late? Maybe it's because of my health, the taxing process of the last couple of days has begun to take its toll? Ok Laura, _none_ of those are going to work if you can't get this ridiculous grin off your face.

Priorities before the meeting:  
** 1.** Stop grinning like an idiot.  
** 2.** Try to look composed and pull it together.

Like that's going to happen! If my reflection is any indication, I'm going to need more time than I have available. Maybe a good week or two... Ok, onwards and upwards...ugh… Do you think they would notice if the President decided to play hooky? I mean, all I would need to do is get them started and then slip out into the corridor. They would never even know I was missing. I could come back here and have an early afternoon meeting with Bill – _damn_ it.

** 3.** I really need to stop smiling; my face is beginning to hurt.  
** 4.** Don't think about Bill – Commander Adama. It only leads you to trouble.

I see Billy's fast approaching figure as I round the corner. OK, deep breath – Showtime.

"Good morning Madame President."

"Good morning Billy." He falls into a step beside me as we walk briskly to the landing bay. I can see him glance at me out of the corner of my eye. I need to distract him before he starts asking too many questions. "How was your evening with Petty Officer Dualla?" There goes the stutter and his scrutiny; he's just absolutely adorable when he's like this.

* * *

"Colonel." Face set, back straight, voice calm. Good.

"Commander." He nods his head in salute "The President's shuttle just left a few minutes ago."

He's looking at me with that face. I haven't even been here for a minute and he thinks he knows. We'll see about that Saul, we may have known each other for the past twenty years but I'm not going to give you anything.

"Very good. What's the status on Colonial One's repairs?" Hold steady, don't give him any ammunition.

"Chief says the FTL drive will be up and running by mid-morning " I nod in acknowledgment and shift my gaze away from Tigh's as Dualla approaches with the morning's communications report. I look up as Saul clears his throat.

"Looks like the President will be leaving the Galactica a little earlier than planned." I have to hand it to him. He is persistent. He moves closer to me with a small smirk on his face. "I hope that doesn't ruin any plans you may have made for tonight."

"No, why would it?" I respond as blandly as possible.

* * *

The throat clears again and I quickly turn my head in Billy's direction. I need to watch the day dreaming or he'll think that I need to cancel my meetings for the day. It would mean a trip back to Galactica and an appointment with the good doctor… Sighing aloud, I acknowledge mentally that he is NOT the person I'd want to see when I return.

"Madame President?" Damn, now I've worried him. Billy really does wear his heart on his sleeve; I can see it from across the shuttle cabin.

"It's all right Billy; I'm just a little bit distracted this morning." He nods his head slightly and gives me an uncertain smile. I can't help but smile in reassurance.

"Did you get enough sleep last night ma'am? Do I need to set aside some time for you to rest?"

I hesitate for a moment but, before I can even answer Billy has already started rearranging my schedule, taking my pause as a request for some personal time. As soon as Billy mentioned last night I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. Images of the previous day had come rushing back and I had no choice but to close my eyes for a minute.

"Thank you Billy."

"No problem ma'am. We can take some time after the Quorum meeting and head back to Galactica. As luck would have it, the pilot told me that we'll be able to move over to Colonial One later today. So getting back early will let me arrange for our transfer before the next rush of meetings."

Thinking on this for a moment, I can't help the smile that comes over my face. This time I'm not worried about the consequences, only about the possible response to my next request.

"Billy…If it's not too much of an imposition, I was wondering if you could make one other adjustment to this afternoon's schedule…"

* * *

It feels like I've been holding his gaze for an eternity. Time and trust allows a person to get to know you, it allows them to see what your thinking. It lets you have conversations without words, inappropriate conversations that have absolutely no place in CIC about uncomfortable personal subjects.

"Commander?" A voice breaks through the staring contest Saul and I have been having.

"Yes Dee?" I respond, not breaking eye contact with him.

"The President is requesting time for a meeting this afternoon after she returns from her appointment with the Quorum delegates." That does it. I blink and he catches it. There goes that eyebrow again.

It's his turn to speak, "What's the meeting about Petty Officer?" Having looked at Dualla, he turns back to me waiting for my objection, when none is forthcoming he looks to again Dee for an answer.

Looking a little startled at the question, Dee speaks quietly into her headset before responding. "Water rations sir. It appears that the President would like to have some clarification on a few of the details that were discussed in this morning's briefing."

I can't help my response. I can feel the warmth begin to make its journey through my body and I curse Laura under my breath. Ducking my head a moment, I hope that the action is taken as a moment of consideration. I know that I'm not fooling Tigh, but at this particular moment I just want to get out of here so that I can take the call and speak to the woman on the other end.

"Tell the President that I can clear my schedule as soon as she knows when she'll be heading back." Looking back up at Dee, I add "Ask her to hold on and transfer the call to my quarters, I need to speak to her in detail about a few other things that were discussed before she left."

"Yes sir" Dee begins to whisper into her mic again as I turn into the stare that I feel aimed at the back of my head.

"Colonel, if you'll excuse me, I need to speak to the President."

"Of course sir, I'm sure the...water rations...are a matter of some urgency." The smirk is still there, in fact it has grown. I nod in his direction with a small smile of my own. Right now he has only speculation on his side and as far as I'm concerned it can stay that way for a good while longer. Although, as I leave the command deck I can't seem to help myself as I throw a comment back over my shoulder.

"Oh and Colonel? Please make sure Mr. Gaeta is prepared to block out a couple of hours for my appointment with the President. I wouldn't want to hurry her through the meeting. Water rations do require quite a bit of attention in order for them to be worked out to everybody's satisfaction."


End file.
